Johnson & Johnson’s JNJ first-quarter 2026 earnings came in at $2.70 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.67. Earnings declined 2.5% from the year-ago period.
Adjusted earnings exclude intangible amortization expense and special items. Including these items, reported earnings were $2.14 per share, down 52.9% year over year.
Sales of this drug and medical devices giant came in at $24.1 billion, which also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $23.44 billion.
Sales rose 9.9% from the year-ago quarter, reflecting an operational increase of 6.4% and a positive currency impact of 3.5%. Organically, excluding the impact of acquisitions/divestitures and currency, sales rose 5.3% on an operational basis.
First-quarter sales in the domestic market rose 8.3% to $13.33 billion. Excluding the impact of all acquisitions and divestitures on an adjusted operational basis, domestic sales rose 6.2% in the quarter.
International sales rose 11.9% on a reported basis to $10.7 billion, reflecting an operational increase of 3.9% and a positive currency impact of 8.0%. Excluding the impact of all acquisitions and divestitures on an adjusted operational basis, international sales rose 4.0% in the quarter.
J&J’s Innovative Medicines Unit Continues its Outperformance
J&J’s Innovative Medicines segment sales rose 11.2% year over year to $15.43 billion, reflecting a 7.4% operational increase and a positive currency impact of 3.8%. Excluding the impact of all acquisitions and divestitures and currency on an adjusted operational basis, worldwide sales rose 5.6%. Innovative Medicines sales beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.05 billion.
Higher sales of key products such as Darzalex, Tremfya and Erleada due to strong market growth and share gains drove the segment’s growth. New drugs like Carvykti, Tecvayli, Talvey, Rybrevant and Spravato contributed significantly to growth. The sales growth was partially dampened by biosimilar competition to blockbuster drug Stelara and lower sales of Imbruvica.
JNJ’s Strong Oncology Drugs’ Performance
Sales of blockbuster multiple myeloma medicine Darzalex rose 22.5% year over year to $3.96 billion in the quarter. Sales beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.85 billion.
Imbruvica sales declined 6.9% to $660.0 million. Rising competitive pressure in the United States due to new oral competition has been hurting Imbruvica's sales for the past few quarters. Imbruvica sales were, however, better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $637.0 million.
Erleada generated sales of $949.0 million in the quarter, up 23.1% year over year. Erleada sales beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $919.0 million.
New drug Carvykti recorded sales of $597.0 million, up 62.1% year over year. Another new drug, Tecvayli, recorded sales of $202.0 million in the quarter, up 33.5% year over year,
Sales of Talvey were $152.0 million, up 76.7% year over year. Rybrevant/Lazcluze sales were $257.0 million compared with $216.0 million in the previous quarter.
JNJ’s Immunology Drugs’ Performance
Stelara sales declined 59.7% to $656.0 million in the quarter due to the impact of biosimilar competition. While U.S. sales of Stelara declined 77.6%, international sales declined 32.4% in the quarter. Stelara sales significantly missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $944.0 million.
Several biosimilar versions of J&J’s multi-billion-dollar immunology drug, Stelara, were launched in the United States in 2025. According to patent settlements and license agreements, Amgen AMGN, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries TEVA, Samsung Bioepis/Sandoz, and some other companies have launched Stelara biosimilars. Stelara’s loss of exclusivity (LOE) negatively impacted the Innovative Medicines segment’s growth by 920 basis points in the quarter.
Tremfya recorded sales of $1.61 billion in the quarter, up 68.3% year over year. Tremfya sales beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.48 billion.
Simponi/Simponi Aria sales declined 1.7% to $647.0 million. Sales of Remicade declined 9.5% in the quarter to $422.0 million.
JNJ’s Neuroscience, PAH and Other Drugs’ Performance
In neuroscience, Spravato recorded sales of $468.0 million, up 46.4% year over year. Caplyta, added from last year’s acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies, recorded sales of $270 million in the quarter compared with $249.0 million in the previous quarter. Invega Sustenna/Xeplion/Invega Trinza/Trevicta sales rose 15% to $1.04 billion in the quarter.
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) drug Uptravi recorded sales of $483.0 million, up 7.1% year over year. Another PAH drug, Opsumit, recorded sales of $606.0 million, up 16.1% year over year.
Xarelto sales declined 7% in the quarter to $642.0 million. Prezista sales rose 10% to $443.0 million.
MedTech Segment Sales Continue to Improve
MedTech segment sales came in at $8.64 billion, up 7.7% from the year-ago period, including an operational increase of 4.6% and a positive currency impact of 3.1%. MedTech segment sales beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.57 billion.
Excluding the impact of all acquisitions and divestitures, and currency, on an adjusted operational basis, worldwide sales rose 4.7%. The MedTech business has improved in the last four quarters, driven by strong performance in three focus areas: Cardiovascular, Surgery and Vision.
However, the company faces headwinds in China, where sales are being hurt by the impact of the volume-based procurement (VBP) program. VBP is a government-driven cost containment effort in China.
JNJ Slightly Ups 2026 Guidance
J&J raised its 2026 sales guidance range from $100.0 billion-$101.0 billion to $100.3 billion-$101.3 billion. The sales projection indicates growth in the range of 6.5%-7.5% versus the prior expectation of 6.2%-7.2%. Operational sales growth is expected in the range of 5.9%-6.9% versus the prior expectation of 5.7%-6.7%.
Adjusted operational sales (excluding currency impact, acquisitions/divestitures) growth is expected in the range of 5.6%-6.6% versus the prior expectation of 5.4%-6.4%.
Adjusted earnings per share guidance was raised from a range of $11.43-$11.63 to $11.45-$11.65 per share. On an operational, constant-currency basis, adjusted earnings per share are expected to increase in the range of 6.1%-8.1% versus the prior expectation of 5.9%-7.9%.
Our Take on JNJ’s Q1 Results
Johnson & Johnson kicked off the first-quarter earnings season for the drug and biotech sector with earnings and revenue beats, signaling solid underlying demand across its portfolio. Sales of key therapies — including Darzalex, Tremfya and Erleada — surpassed expectations, while the MedTech segment also delivered better-than-anticipated growth.
Despite Stelara's LOE, the Innovative Medicines unit once again outperformed estimates, driven primarily by strong momentum in oncology. Newer therapies and recent launches made a meaningful contribution to overall sales growth, helping offset biosimilar pressure. Encouraged by the strong start to the year, J&J modestly raised its 2026 financial guidance, signaling confidence in sustained growth across both its Innovative Medicine and MedTech businesses. The company also announced a 3.1% increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.34 per share, up from $1.30.
However, despite the robust quarterly performance and improved outlook, J&J’s shares were down slightly in pre-market trading on Tuesday. This was probably due to a much steeper decline in Stelara’s sales than expected.
In the past year, J&J’s stock has risen 54.1% compared with an increase of 21.5% for the industry.
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J&J outperformed financial expectations in 2025 and looks optimistic for continued strong momentum in 2026, with a target to generate around $100 billion in revenues this year. The company expects both its Innovative Medicines and MedTech segments to deliver stronger growth this year, with first-quarter results marking a solid step toward achieving its accelerated growth ambitions.
J&J’s Zacks Rank & Stock to Consider
J&J currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
A better-ranked large drugmaker is AstraZeneca AZN, which has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
AstraZeneca’s shares have risen 49% in the past year. Estimates for its 2026 earnings per share have increased from $10.20 to $10.30 over the past 60 days.
AstraZeneca’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 3.59%.
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